The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has scheduled a hearing on April 16-17 for world number one Jannik Sinner regarding doping allegations, as announced by the Lausanne-based organisation on Friday.
Following Sinner's positive tests for clostebol, a prohibited steroid, in March last year, the World Anti-Doping Agency has challenged the International Tennis Integrity Agency's (ITIA) decision to clear him.
The hearing will be private, with CAS confirming that no parties requested a public session.
The ITIA had previously accepted Sinner's explanation that the substance entered his system via his physiotherapist's use of a spray containing clostebol during treatment and subsequent therapy sessions.
Prior to the Australian Open, the 23-year-old champion expressed uncertainty about the timing of the verdict, stating: "I know exactly as much as you guys know. We are in a stage where we don't know many, many things."
Facing Chilean Nicolas Jarry in the first round at Melbourne Park, Sinner acknowledged the ongoing impact of the situation: "You think about this, of course. I would lie if I would tell you I forget. It's something what I have with me now already for quite a long time. But it is what it is. I'm here trying to prepare the Grand Slam. Let's see how it goes."
Emphasising his cautious approach, Sinner explained: "I've always been very, very careful on every single medicine I take, even what I eat. When the bottle is open, I throw it away, I take a new one. In my mind I know exactly what happened, and that's how I block it (out). I haven't done anything wrong, that's why I'm still here. That's why I'm still playing."
